Baraga’s coach Jon Boever gives some last-minute instructions to his team in a Division 4 District 98 semifinal game against L’Anse Wednesday in the Baraga Gym. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette)

BARAGA — Jon Boever, coach of the Baraga Vikings boys basketball team, summed up his team’s Division 4 District 98 semifinal win against L’Anse Wednesday with four words.

“It was a battle,” he said, “just like we expected it to be. L’Anse is a very good team.”

The Vikings proved to be the better team, however, and earned their 15th win of the season with a final score of 55-51. They will now face the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Blue Bolts on Friday for the the district title.

The Vikings pushed out to a 13-12 lead after one and never looked back. It was still a one-point matchup at half with L’Anse up 25-24.

While L’Anse did tie the game at 27 and 34 in the third, that was the best they could do, and that made all the difference according to their coach Robert Potter.

“We missed too many shots,” he stated. “The effort was there, but we just could not get the lead. That is really the story line.”

Meanwhile, the Vikings were patient and worked the ball well. They had a 38-36 lead after three and with strong rebounding by their leading scorer Daniel Connor they were able the seal the four-point win. Connor led with 23 points. Nolan Hendrickson followed him with 12.

“Daniel does such a good job inside,” stated his coach. “He is big, strong, athletic and hard to stop.”

He also made his free throws as did his teammates. The Vikings were 19-22 from the line, and that certainly made a difference at the end.

“I am extremely proud of the boys,” noted Boever. “This was a real team effort. We had set a goal to win 10 games this year, and this was No. 15, and we have a chance to keep going.”

The Purple Hornets had two players in double figures. J.J. Beeler led with 16, and Keegan Davidson sunk 15.

UP NEXT

The Vikings will face the Dollar Bay Blue Bolts (19-4) Friday in Baraga. The two teams have met twice already, and the Blue Bolts have won them both by 10-plus points.

“I like that we are playing them at home,” noted Boever. “We need to work on our consistency, our communication on defense and not give them any turnovers or points. We need to play good fundamental basketball and take care of the ball. This is what the postseason is about.”